The government Wednesday imposed import restrictions on platinum alloy with less than 99 per cent purity to curb illicit imports of this precious metal blended with significant amounts of gold. The move aims to plug the gap wherein platinum alloy blended with significant amounts of gold was imported to exploit the tariff differential between gold and platinum.
India imported $2.09 billion of platinum unwrought or in semi manufactured or powder form in April-November FY25 of which $1.766 billion came from the UAE.
With the import policy for the product being changes to “restricted” from “free”, importers of such platinum alloys will now have to obtain import authorisation from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT).
“Import policy of platinum…is revised from free to restricted except for platinum alloy of 99 per cent or more purity by weight of platinum,” the DGFT said in a notification.
To ensure a smooth supply of platinum for jewellery manufacturing and industrial use, the government allows the unrestricted import of platinum alloy with 99 per cent or higher purity of platinum.
In October 2024, India raised concerns over a jump in imports of silver products, platinum alloy, and dry dates from the UAE and urged the country to ensure that the rules are not circumvented under their bilateral free trade agreement.
The agreement allows unlimited imports of gold, silver, platinum, and diamonds from the UAE into India at zero tariffs. While gold can be imported from Dubai at 5 per cent duty, the imports become duty-free if the alloy contains 2 per cent platinum leading to a tariff differential.
